FRISCO - In the days leading up to the Texas League playoffs, Hooks manager Keith Bodie stressed that the team which plays the best fundamental game would win.

In Wednesday night's South Division series opener, that team was not the one wearing Corpus Christi jerseys.

Some pivotal miscues loomed large as the Hooks fell to the Frisco RoughRiders 6-5 at Dr Pepper Ballpark.

Frisco leads the best-of-5 series 1-0, with Game 2 on Thursday night before the matchup shifts to Whataburger Field on Friday.

"We didn't play very well," Bodie said. "Physical errors happen, but we lost the game early on when we didn't make a routine play. A baserunning mistake hurt. Bad positioning hurt.

"It is what it is — it's a close game and you can't make mistakes in a close game."

Frisco won the game in walk-off fashion in the ninth against Hooks reliever Alex Sogard. After Leury Garcia's one-out single, Chris McGuiness drove a double over the head of Hooks right fielder Drew Locke — the "bad positioning" Bodie was referring to as the team was in a no-doubles defense.

The Hooks appeared to have a chance to get Garcia at the plate, but second baseman Enrique Hernandez's relay throw didn't get to the plate in time and Garcia was able to slide around catcher Jay Fernandez's sweep tag.

The Hooks had overcome a three-run deficit and knotted the score in the eighth, when Jon Singleton led off with a homer to left against reliever Richard Bleier.

Corpus Christi then had runners on first and second in the ninth, but reliever Roman Mendez got Singleton to fly out to center to end the threat.

Arguably what was the game's pivotal play came in the third inning.

The teams were tied at 2 with two outs and a runner on first, when Ryan Strausborger hit a seemingly routine grounder to Andy Simunic that the Hooks' third baseman booted for an error.

That miscue was promptly magnified when Jared Hoying — after being down 0-2 in the count — drilled a two-run double three pitches later to left-center field to give the RoughRiders a 4-2 lead.

"I feel sick to my stomach," Simunic said. "It's a ball that kicked up on me and it's a play I make nine out of 10 times. That's as big a play as can be and that can change a whole series.

"I feel awful letting not only Clemens down but everybody. (Defense) is something I take a lot of pride in."

The Hooks started to rally after being buoyed by the stellar relief work of veteran Erick Abreu, who tossed four shutout innings.

In the sixth, Locke's two-out double to deep left field brought in Singleton to draw Corpus Christi within two, chasing Frisco starter Barret Loux, this season's Texas League pitcher of the year.

The Hooks sliced another run off the deficit in the seventh off reliever Wilmer Font. After George Springer's leadoff walk, Hernandez singled him to third. Hernandez, however, was thrown out trying to take second in the aforementioned baserunning error.

Ben Orloff, however, followed with his second run-scoring hit of the game, an infield single up the middle that scored Springer.

The Hooks now have to salvage a split leaving Frisco after dropping four of five games there including the final series of the regular season.

"We've just got to treat it like every other day," said Singleton, who also had an RBI double. "We lost and have to get up and play better (Thursday) and get a W before going back to Corpus."